Based on a 2017 education and literacy report*, the male literacy rate is 59.1%, while the female literacy rate is at an abysmal 43.8%. Slightly over half of the country’s total population is literate averaging 51.3%. Moreover the lack of education and job training programs have left two-thirds of the country underemployed and unemployed, and our goal at Sinava is to help change that narrative.

 

It is believed that Sierra Leone’s ten-year civil war is to blame for the devastating impacts it left on the educational system. Most of the schools were destroyed and children were forced to drop out of school to help their families. Up until September 2018, parents were left with paying for their child’s way through school, but thanks to the newly elected government, they don’t have to anymore.

 

We currently serve 37 students and partner with two public institutions in Kenema, Sierra Leone: Methodist Primary School and Ansarul Islamic Secondary School. In the past, we paid tuition and fees for our students. But as of 2018, the current government of Sierra Leone covers students’ tuition and give them text books for the core subjects. And while schools offer students the basic learning tools, they do not provide a platform for them to successfully compete in the global economy.

 

Therefore, we partner with schools to provide continuing education courses and sponsor students by enrolling them in computer courses and summer school.

 

Sinava also provides students with additional school supplies such as books, pens, backpacks, calculators, uniforms and other basic necessities they require to stay focused and excel in their studies. In essence, we supplement what the government and the schools do not provide to students.